


no big surprise you turned out this way

by SongOfWizardry



Series: when i sing, you sing harmonies [3]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Empire Siblings - Freeform, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Thoreau Lionett Being an Asshole, Thoreau Lionett's A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:09:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27062461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SongOfWizardry/pseuds/SongOfWizardry
Summary: beau knows a trip to kamordah is, to put it mildly, a bad decision. beau is going to make the bad decision anyway. the thing about having friends is, they insist on accompanying you while you make your bad decisions.[or: the empire siblings and a journey to the lionett family home]
Relationships: Beauregard Lionett & Caleb Widogast
Series: when i sing, you sing harmonies [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1898512
Comments: 5
Kudos: 55





	no big surprise you turned out this way

**Author's Note:**

> cw: canon-typical shitty parenting

Beau likes making lists.

For all her impulsiveness, for all the stupid decisions she acknowledges she’s made and hasn’t thought through, for all the many, various, character flaws she is well aware she has, she will give herself this—she likes her lists. There’s a stack of blue, battered, soft-cover notebooks with the Cobalt Soul logo on them teetering on the edge of her desk, filled up with lists in her hasty cursive. The most recent list, however, she’s ripped out and has stuck to her mirror with a piece of washi tape (it’s baby blue with little stars on it, it was a present from Jester) and she’s been looking at it multiple times a day for the last week. 

She’s staring at it right now, rereading the words she’s long since memorised. The list reads:

> _Pros:_
> 
> _Mother would be happy_
> 
> _Get to see TJ_
> 
> _Good free food_
> 
> _Cons:_
> 
> _Father_
> 
> _Everything else????_

“Beauregard?”

She looks away from the list, to where Caleb is sitting, cross-legged, at the foot of her bed, for once looking straight at her. “Yeah, sorry, what was that?” she asks.

“I said,” Caleb says, in that steely tone that shows up when he’s ready to argue with her, “That I still do not think this is a good idea.”

“Look–” 

“But,” he continues, cutting her off, “If you are planning on doing this anyway, I am coming with you.”

That leaves Beau momentarily speechless. One side of Caleb’s mouth quirks up a little, like he’s amused. Beau blinks, rewinds, and tries again, “I’m sorry, what?” 

This time, Caleb’s gaze drops to her blanket, but when he speaks, his voice is still firm. “I spoke to everyone last night. We are, ah, in agreement that if you are going, you are not going alone.” He shrugs, looks back up. “I am free this weekend, and I am, ah, maybe the least likely to cause more issues for you by being there.”

For a brief moment, the image of one of the others showing up at her family house—Caduceus, maybe, grey and pink and blunt, or Jester, blue and very not-human and exuberant in a way that was completely at odds with Beau’s upbringing, flashes through her mind, and she has the slightly hysterical desire to laugh. Instead, she makes her way back over to the bed, and drops onto it. Caleb is still watching her. 

“I thought you said it was a bad idea,” she says. 

“ _Ja_. It is.” He pauses, and she can see him chewing on his lower lip, choosing his words. Something inside her – something _new_ , something she’s only ever had with these fuckers – twists painfully at the idea that she is _causing_ this anxiety. “But,” Caleb is saying, “We cannot stop you, yes? I will still say you do not have to go, and I do not think going is a good decision, but—that does not mean I am not coming with you.” 

Beau slumps against the headboard, looks back towards the mirror. She wants to be _angry_ , angry that Caleb has spoken to everyone, angry that they’re all worrying about her, angry that he keeps saying it’s a bad decision when it’s _hers_ to make. She wants the fire that rushes into her—she wants to _want_ to punch the stupid stubborn look off Caleb’s face. But mostly, it just makes her sad. And tired.

“Okay,” she finally says, not looking away from her list.

“ _Ja_. Okay,” Caleb responds after a minute. Beau doesn’t look back at him, but out of the corner of her eye, she sees him start to fold up the first of the shirts she’d set out for the trip, slow and methodical.

* * *

The journey up to Kamordah takes an hour and a half on the train. They’re sat in a half-full carriage, Beau by the window, Caleb next to her. She keeps her earphones in and stares out the window, trying to ignore both the sudden sadness as they pull away from Zadash, and the equally sudden burst of nostalgia as they head into the hills and the landscape morphs into rocky, familiar, shapes.

Caleb has a book out for the entire journey, and she thinks, more than once, that he’s looking at her, but she keeps staring out the window and doesn’t make eye contact. 

Ten minutes out from their stop, though, just as she’s recognising the hills and houses flashing by and there’s that annoying, painful _something_ stuck in her chest, catching on every breath, Caleb’s hand lands on her shoulder, squeezes. She breathes in, reaches up to pat his hand, once, and breathes out. 

**Author's Note:**

> this particular instalment of the series has been... on its way for a while. I started writing it months ago, and then had to pause for a while because events in Real Life that very much mirrored the fic's content happened.  
> this will be a couple chapters long, but I wanted to get the first one out this weekend!
> 
> as always, you can find me yelling about critical role and other things on [tumblr](https://songofwizardry.tumblr.com/).


End file.
